ADDICTION

1. Take the mystery out of Addiction

Cage test is a quick indicator if there is an addiction problem, Yes to 2 - highly possible, Yes to 4,
need help, you are in a cage.

C: Have you ever felt that you need to cut down on your drinking?
A: Have you ever felt annoyed or angry at family or friends for commenting on or criticizing your
drinking?
G: Have you ever felt guilty or bad about your drinking?
E: Have you ever had to have a drink as an eye opener in the morning to calm your nerves and give
you a boost for the day?

Other signs are Tolerance and Withdrawal

Tolerance - progressively greater and greater amounts is needed to get the desired feeling/result
Withdrawal - symptoms will occur when the substance is stopped, using the substance leads to relief
of the symptoms.
E.g. Anxiety, anorexia (or loss of appetite), insomnia (can’t sleep at night), confusion, delirium,
tremors in hands, tongue or eyelids, palpitations (when you feel your heart beating very fast),
sweating, high temperatures and sometimes even seizures.
Alcohol and other substances affects many cellular components of the brain and it alter chemicals in
the brain, neurotransmitters and receptors

E.g. Alcohol and nicotine increase the neurotransmitter Dopamine, which is a pleasure chemical.
Alcoholics also have a new neurotransmitter and new receptors that are formed in their brains called
THIQ neurotransmitters and receptors, when this THIQ neurotransmitter stimulates these receptors
there is a permanent craving for alcohol. A person who was previously an alcoholic cannot ever have
a drop of alcohol again even if they have not had a single alcoholic drink for 10 or 30 years. Even the
small amount of alcohol in throat lozenges or in certain medicines such as cough syrup, can
stimulate and reactivate the THIQ neurotransmitters and receptors, sending the person on an
alcohol binge and back into the bondage of alcoholism.

A “recovering alcoholic” who had been sober for 30 years told Dr. Strydom that he still has to make
the choice every single day not to have a drink. There is a statement commonly used by AA groups
“Once an alcoholic, Always an alcoholic.”
Before we start to deal with the spiritual roots of diseases we need to know that no disease is
incurable. The word “incurable” is totally unscriptural. Absolutely nothing is impossible with God. He
created the human body and the human brain, and He can restore it back to complete and perfect
health and wholeness. Isaiah 53 v 5 “… By the stripes of Jesus we are healed and made whole”
It doesn’t say in except for alcoholics. Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes
we are healed."

Ps. 103:3. “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases”

Once the root issues behind alcoholism are dealt with, the Lord will deliver and heal an alcoholic or
any other addict completely, because when the Son sets you free, you are free in deed!"
Joh. 8:36. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.
Gal. 5:1. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be
entangled again with a yoke of bondage."
Although we believe one can be healed completely from addictions it is advisable to stay away from
substances completely, replace those habits with other healthy/godly habits.
Mat. 12:43 - 45. “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking
rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he
comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is
worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Eph. 4:27 “Leave no room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]."
"Some people are born with an inherited predisposition for alcoholism. These people have a
defective chemical in their brain that is “not complete”.
When this defective or incomplete chemical comes into contact with alcohol, there is a chemical
reaction and a new chemical is formed – THIQ which I spoke about above. That is the reason why it
only takes one drink to get alcoholism moving in these people.
We often see that addictions runs in families, if this is the case deal with this genetically.
Nicotine in cigarettes and the other addictive substances in drugs such as heroin and cocaine work in
a similar way to alcoholism as described above. Cocaine is very dangerous, an extremely large
amount of dopamine is released giving a person a very high rush, when the person takes it for the
second time the rush he was expecting doesn’t happen. This is because in our creation God put
checks and balances on our immorality in our body chemistry. The body manufactures all the other
chemicals in the brain fairly quickly, except for dopamine. When dopamine is released completely in
the body by cocaine, it takes two years for the body to restore the dopamine back to the normal
levels providing that it is not released again in those two years.

The need to be loved unfulfilled, insecurity and a breakdown in relationship with self. E.g. low self-
esteem, a poor self-image, self-rejection, self-disapproval, self-hatred, guild, shame, condemnation
etc. are behind every type of addiction.
The enemy knows that if he can get you into a place where you doubt that God loves you, you don’t
love yourself and you are not sure if you are loved and accepted by others, you’re going to start
looking for love in all the wrong places and that could be a chemical substance.
I would like to give you some insight into how addiction problems normally develop through the
spirit-soul-body connection.
We know there is a connection between our body and soul (mind), but there is another important
connection and that is with our spirit. It is the core of our being, since we are a spirit, have a soul and
live in a body. God is our Father and He is the Father of spirits and lives. See Hebrews 12:9
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we
not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 
God is the life giving spirit and He communicates with us, Spirit to spirit, through our thoughts, since
we cannot hear His audible voice. Mat 10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your
Father who speaks in you.
Information reaches our mind in two ways, through our five senses and beta brainwave activities,
e.g. the things we see, hear etc.
Information also enters our minds through the theta brainwave activities through our thoughts and
spirit. Once these thoughts are part of our soul it will have an effect on our bodies. Hebrews 4:12.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
Unfortunately satan and his evil spirits also communicate through our thoughts to our spirit.
An accusing spirit spoke to you spirit to spirit accusing you to yourself. Through theta brain wave
activity you picked up these patterns of thought in the first person (not realising that it was the
enemy speaking to you) and so you began to follow that way of thinking as if it were you and began
to feel bad about yourself. As you meditated on these thoughts in your mind which is your soul, you
developed a toxic mind-set of a low self-esteem (which probably came from the need to be loved
unfulfilled), self-hatred, self-condemnation, guilt, shame, self-rejection, self-disapproval and self-
bitterness. Whilst meditating on these thoughts, you grew a toxic thorn tree (long term memory) in
your brain.
So that low self-esteem which was initially spiritual became a part of your soul through thinking and
eventually a part of you physically in the form of that long term memory. Then through the mind-
body connection that toxic thorn tree has the following effects on the body:
One of the things that the hypothalamus does in response to a low self-esteem (which can include
self-hatred, self-condemnation, guilt, shame, self-rejection, self-disapproval and self-bitterness) is to
lower the serotonin levels.
Reduced serotonin levels cause you to feel bad about yourself…i.e. you feel depressed – that is
clinical depression by definition– a deficiency of serotonin. So you are feeling depressed and now
naturally you want comfort…and so you brought alcohol/cigarettes/food/drugs to your mouth
because the mouth is the contact place for love and security. The lips are the nurturing point.
(Sucking thumb, dummy)
The alcohol/cigarettes/drugs/food causes a rush of dopamine in the brain producing a short term
pleasurable; comforting sensation (Dopamine is the pleasure chemical that stimulates the reward
system in the brain).
After the short lasting fulfilment, pleasurable, comforting sensation wears off; you become filled
with guilt, self-condemnation and/or self-hatred because of the alcohol/food binge you have just
been on. And so the negative cycle perpetuates. The devil sure knows how to keep people in
bondage and captivity.

2. Forgiveness
Before we can start on the road to healing, I need to point out that there will be no breakthrough
unless you forgive. Unforgiveness is a major block to healing. You need to get rid of the toxic
thinking patterns (toxic thorn trees) in your mind and it is medically proven, that you cannot replace
the toxic thorn trees with lush trees of healthy thoughts if there is still unforgiveness in your heart
and mind. The spiritual root and disease is irrelevant – we still need to forgive!
Even unbelieving medical staff assists their patients to forgive and release people because they know
and have seen through experience forgiveness speeds up healing.
But for us who believes we know that we need to forgive See Matthew 6 where we are taught how
to pray. If we pray for your healing and ask for forgiveness for the toxic ungodly mind-set of e.g. self-
hatred, fear etc. - how can we expect God to forgive if we do not want to forgive?
Mat. 6:14 - 15. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
A key scripture to look at is Mark 11:22 - 24. It is often used in healing ministry, but it is so important
to read the rest Mark 11: 25 - 26. How can we deal with the spiritual root of disease e.g. Father
forgive me for allowing the spirit of fear in my life, forgive me for focussing more on fear than faith
and trust in You, forgive me - but we are not prepared to forgive others...
Mark. 11:22 - 26 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to
you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in
his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and
you will have them. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone,
forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

I would like you to take some quite time and even write it down, think of all the people who have
mistreated you in any way, so that you can forgive and release them. Forgiving is a choice you need
to make and you need to forgive from the heart.
Search your heart and make sure you get into right standing with others, with God and with yourself.
Yes, you may even need to forgive yourself. You might even be angry with God, not knowing and
experiencing His unconditional love for you.

I would like to lead you in the process of forgiveness and lead you in a short prayer, to let you
experience the freedom that forgiveness brings.
Abba Father I pray that You help ___________ in the name of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit please
bring all the people to his/her mind, show him/her where he/she needs to forgive. Look into
the depths of _________heart and reveal to him/her where there is hardness, un-
forgiveness, bitterness and resentment or anything against anybody. Please bring their
names to his/her heart right now by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Thank you for forgiving
_________ for allowing unforgiveness and bitterness in his heart. (_______ can you join me
in prayer and name a person you can think of right now, and how he/she hurt you, tell our
Heavenly Father you forgive them for what they did)I choose to forgive ________for
_________. We trust You to make the forgiveness heartfelt, and to forgive like You do. Holy
Spirit, show ________how to continue on this road of forgiveness, please do the work in
his/her heart, give him/her a teachable spirit. Thank you Lord – Amen

Forgive yourself:

“I’m not guilty. I became one with sin as if it were me and have been blaming myself and
have been bitter against myself all these years. I’ve felt guilty, unworthy, ashamed and
inferior and have compared myself to others. I repent Father for bitterness and unforgiveness
towards myself and I forgive myself. - Amen
Forgive God:

God, I have held anger against You. I know that You have done nothing wrong, and I am in
need of Your forgiveness. But I believe that my saying, “I forgive You” will help me to let go of
un-forgiveness that I have misdirected towards You. I forgive You. My problems are not Your
fault. You are my answer.- In the Name of Jesus – Amen

It is important to know God is not interested in memorised or 'plastic' words; He is looking at your
heart. So these prayers are only examples, take the time make your Forgiveness heartfelt, and come
into right standing with God, yourself and others.

Mat. 18:35. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not
forgive his brother his trespasses.”

I want to encourage you to always freely forgive the moment you become aware of any
disappointment and anger towards someone.

Remember to remove yourself from the sin; so that sanctification can take place, you are not like AA
is saying once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. You are NOT an alcoholic; you are a person dear to
God that struggle with addiction.

3. Repentance
Another condition for healing is Repentance. Yes, without a doubt, God wants to heal us of every
single disease from which we suffer. Healing is a promise in His Word. However, every promise from
God has a condition. You can’t go claiming God’s promises without being prepared to meet His
conditions. Neither can you go quoting half a scripture.
James. 5: 14 - 16. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the
sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your
trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Repentance and healing goes hand in hand. Repentance is the condition for healing. The original
Greek word for repentance means changing your thinking. You need to renew your mind -
repentance is not merely asking forgiveness but it includes a complete change of mind (like a U-
turn). There is no point in God healing you if you don’t get rid of the toxic thinking (fear, anxiety and
stress) because the physical problems will just come back.
Acts. 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”
David is a good example; his life was miserable until he repented. Repentance is a gift?
Ps. 32: 3 & 5 When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long…..
I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
If we repent, we want God to forgive us; this is why repentance only comes after forgiveness,
because we cannot expect God to forgive us, if we are not prepared to forgive others. See Mat.6 &
Mat. 18. 1 Joh. 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
You need to repent for not being a doer of the Word thinking you are unworthy and by this opening a
door for the accusing spirit. When you repent, you take away the enemy’s legal right in your life, it will
close the door that was opened, so that you can start with the sanctification and healing process.

Abba Father, I am sorry for finding my comfort in a drink instead of finding my comfort in You. I
am sorry for _________________, I also repent for _______________in the generations before
me, sanctify our family tree from this. Help and teach me to live according to your Word. –
Amen.

4. Sanctification of the spirit

The medical field has never been able to crack biological and psychological diseases because they
only consider the soul and body, but do not acknowledge the other third of our being which is
spiritual. You will never be able to eradicate and prevent the diseases of mankind in the soul and the
body unless we get it right at the spirit level because that is where the development of diseases
begins. We are a spirit with a soul in a body. Prov. 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

We need to deal with the spirit, we can see in the scripture that fear is not an emotion, it is a spirit.
Paying attention to the spirit man is essential because problems begin in the spiritual realm and later
manifest in the physical realm in the form of psychological disorders and biological diseases. 2 Tim.
1:7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Who taught you to be afraid and anxious? Who taught you to hate yourself or have a low self-
esteem? Who taught you to lust after your neighbour’s wife? Who taught you to be angry, jealous
and bitter? Eph. 6:12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places.
We are spirit beings otherwise God cannot be our Father, when our life on earth are done we will
return to the Father. Heb. 12:9. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and
we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and
live?
There is communication going on in the spiritual realm. Holy spirit and evil spirits can communicate
to our spirit, spirit to spirit through the theta brainwave activity, the evil spritits deceives us, and do
so in the 1st person so that we do not acknowledge it as not our own thoughts. e.g. I am alone/I am
not good enough/I am not loved ... Sin is a being and not a state of being. So we need to sanctify our
spirit by getting rid of the evil spirit. Mark. 7:21 - 23. For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and
defile a man.”

Paul shows us in Rom. 6:12, that a Christian can obey sin. So he challenges you and I as believers not
to let sin reign in our bodies. It doesn’t say that it doesn’t, it says that you are not to let it. How does
sin reign in our bodies? For example, if you become one with rage spiritually and psychologically
through thought, the spirit of rage will want to use your body to express itself against another. So
the issue is not about possession but about what you are allowing to manifest in the physical world
through you. Who are you obeying? Whose instrument are you?
Rom. 6:12. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Why do we need sanctification - Holiness produces Wholeness
1 Thes. 5:23. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole
spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who
calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Just as the disease developed through the spirit-soul-body connection - from the spirit, to the soul
and then to the body, we start the sanctification process also from the spirit, you will not be able to
sanctify your soul, if your spirit is not sanctified
2 Cor 7:1. “Let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit.”

I take back my authority in Christ and I speak to the accusing spirit and unloving spirit. Your
legal right in my life and my generations is finished! In the Name of Jesus, I cat the accusing
spirit and unloving spirit from my life and I will no longer listen to your lies and I am free of
your bondage. You tell me that I am not good enough. I have such great value and worth
that the King died and paid a great price for me. I am the apple of God's eye. I am not
unworthy, so spirit of unworthiness I break your chains now, leave my life in Jesus Name
Spirit of addiction you bound me long enough, it is finished now. I will no longer crave
alcohol; I will crave for the word of God, I will find my comfort in Him. I command the spirit of
addiction to leave my life and my generations’ life in Jesus Name - Amen

After the sanctification prayer, believe that you are free and live in this freedom Joh 8: 36. Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

5. Sanctification of the soul

The AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) was an organization that was developed in the 1930s to help
alcoholics. Their 12 step program was originally based on Biblical principles. In order to become a
member you had to be born again and you had to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour because
they knew that this was vital to obtaining freedom from the bondage of addiction. Today they have
removed that entirely and the rest of the 12 steps hardly resemble the original program because it
has been changed so much. When the AA first started they had a success rate of over 80% but today,
out of the two million people attending the AA worldwide, its success rate is down to 2%. The reason
is because you cannot achieve anything worthwhile if you remove God.
Joh. 15:4 - 5. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who
abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Even though Alcoholics Anonymous has removed accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour from their
program, they still acknowledge that it is impossible to overcome an addiction in your own strength,
and that you need to rely on the strength of a “Higher Power.” Well let’s get specific about that
“Higher Power”… there is only One God.
Mar. 12:32. So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is
one God, and there is no other but He.
1 Cron. 16: 25 – 26. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared [with
awe-filled reverence] above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are [lifeless] idols, But
the Lord made the heavens.
You cannot be completely delivered and set free from the bondage of your addiction without an
intimate love relationship with the Father beyond the realms of empty religion. You have a God
given void within you that only God can fill. Alcohol, cigarettes or whatever it is that you are addicted
to, is a false comforter that will never satisfy you or fill that void.

You have a deep spiritually rooted need to be loved and the prayer of my heart is that you would get
to know the Father heart of God and His overwhelming love for you. The answer to your need to be
loved, which is the root of your addiction, is intimacy with the Father – The Lord wants you to know
Him. The more you get to know Him, the more you will love Him. 1 Joh. 4:15 - 19, Whoever
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and
believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and
God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts
out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We
love Him because He first loved us.

The devil wants to rule your life. If you allow him, he will continue to fill your mind with unloving
thoughts that will lead to a chemical imbalance in your brain which is the lowering of your serotonin
levels so that you start taking steps to find fulfilment. The enemy knows as long as you have these
toxic thinking patterns where you feel unloved and you do not love yourself, that there is no way
that you can increase your serotonin levels unless you take a "fix". You might feel better when you
use the "fix" but you still have that unloving way of thinking as part of your nature. So even though
you are on the "fix", you still do not feel satisfied, just more tormented. The enemy alters your body
chemistry through your thoughts when you buy into the lies that say God does not love you, you do
not love yourself and others do not love you.
Firstly, chemically altered states in your brain violate creation because it is not of God. If God wanted
you chemically altered, He would have created you in a different chemical state. Secondly the
artificial short term peace that the chemical provides is a cheap substitute for a love relationship
with the Father, the peace that Jesus gives and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Joh. 14:27. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in
You.”
God can give you the fix you need through enjoying an intimate love relationship with Him.
Eph. 5:18. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.
Alcohol and drugs is a painkiller for emotional turmoil (to the basal ganglia in the brain) – it is a false
comforter to remove the pain of the void of being loved. This applies to excessive eating, cigarettes,
drugs, pornography, gambling and any other addiction as well.
Prov. 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
You just have to want to be healthy more than the taste and the feeling of the "fix". Even though it is
difficult (especially in the beginning), it is not impossible. With God nothing is impossible and you can
do all things through Christ Who strengthens you. Phil. 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.

You may have been going round and round the same mountain – many times you have probably
tried to quit whatever it is you are addicted to, but it only lasted for a short period of time and then
you slipped right back into your bondage.
The reason is that you tried to change the external without changing the internal (your mind-set)
which is the root of your problem. If you want change to be permanent in your life, you have got to
deal with the root issues involving the negative strongholds in your mind first. It starts with a choice.
God has given each one of us a free will and the right to choose. We have the right to make a quality
decision for our life. God will not interfere with that and Satan cannot interfere with that. Did you
know that God cannot heal and deliver you against your will? God cannot do anything more than
what you allow Him to do in your life. Breaking free from addiction starts with you making a stand –
you draw the line and you say, ‘Enough!’ Are you willing to take responsibility? Are you willing to
repent, which means renewing your mind and changing your thinking? In spite of your body
pitching a fit, are you prepared to do what it takes to make a change and break free?

There are no quick fixes, it takes time (about 28 days) to break bad habits and develop new ones. It
is going to take effort, determination and dedication on your part. If you are ready to make that
quality decision to say, “Enough is enough!” then I am rejoicing because then I can help you.

You will only overcome addiction with the assistance of Holy Spirit, He is your Helper. Get
some alone time with God daily, You also need to stop listening to the lie that you are
unworthy and not good enough. Stop listening to the lie that others don’t love you. If they do
not love you, that is their loss, but you do not have to carry somebody else’s sin inside your
heart that will cause destruction in your body. Physically your addiction is rooted in a
deficiency of serotonin. This was caused by you attacking yourself spiritually through
thoughts of self-hatred, self-condemnation and guilt, self-rejection and/or self-bitterness.

We dealt with the spirit, we now need to do sanctification of the soul, because the habit of the
wrong thinking is still there, it will take about 4 days for the toxic thorn trees of feeling un-loved and
having a low self-esteem to stop producing harmful chemicals, and 21 days, to replace the toxic
thorn trees in your mind, with healthy lush trees that producing healthy chemicals and hormones
that enhance your health and wellbeing. The spirit of darkness will try to enter your life again, so
you need to recognise the lies and deal with it.

Sanctification of the soul is done through the renewal of the mind, in 3 simple steps.

 Having a thinking time

What - You set time aside daily for thinking, just as you set time aside daily to spend time with
the Lord in prayer, in His Word and worshipping Him. You can make it part of your daily
devotional time. During this thinking time you meditate on scripture regarding the areas where
you need a breakthrough. Repentance is more than just saying “Sorry God” with words. The
original Greek word for repentance in the Bible means “changing your thinking”. You need to
renew your mind by changing your thinking to the way that God thinks. You find out how God
thinks by spending time meditating on His Word. His Word is what sanctifies your soul.

Why - Renewing your mind is the process where you change your ungodly mind-set to a Godly
mind-set. Although the accusing spirit and the spirit of addiction were removed when you
sanctified your spirit, the long term memory of low self-esteem, lack of love (habit) is still in your
brain. These toxic thorn trees, releases chemicals and hormones which lead to disease in the
 body. Therefore it is essential to get rid of it, and to build a healthy lush memory tree over it,
which will release different chemicals and hormones which will be beneficial to your health. The
renewal of your mind is only possible when you know the Word of God.
How - Since you struggle with lack of love, low self-esteem and addiction, you can use for
example the following scripture
 You are an overcomer just like Jesus, and you are loved unconditionally for who you are and
not what you do
Joh. 16:27. “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed
that I came forth from God.”
1 Joh. 4:17. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he
who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

 Taking your thoughts captive

Taking your thoughts captive during the rest of the day is important, it will be no use that you
handed your cares to the Lord during your thinking time in the morning, just to take it back later
during the day, it will nullify what you did during your thinking time earlier. We are instructed in
the Word to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. So the moment you recognise a
thought of low self-esteem from the enemy, purposefully drop that thought and immediately
replace it with a contradicting truth in God’s Word. It is easier to drop a thought at the onset
than what it is to get rid of a toxic thorn tree.
2 Cor. 10:5. “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

 Speaking out the Word (Declaration)

It is very powerful to speak out the Word of God. There is power in our words. It is medically
proven by the way the brain works that if you speak the Word of God and not only think about
the scriptures, you will renew your mind three times quicker. When you think about a statement
it is fine, but it will be more powerful, if you write the statement out and say it out loud, you will
be able to see it and hear it, so you will be using more of your senses, and therefore memory
trees will be built quicker. It is also the Biblical advice we get, see the scriptures.

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its
fruit.
Romans 10:17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The easiest way to do this is by writing out a faith confession for yourself contradicting your toxic
memories and then you can say it out loud (proclaim this for the next 21 days); you can do this
during your thinking time.
(There are nice Word applications like e-sword/Bible gateway/You Version etc. With search
functionality to find relevant scripture)

Evil spirits cannot read your mind, so you need to speak the Word of God out load. Make your
 faith confession heard in the spiritual realm; it is a powerful spiritual weapon that we need to
use. Make it personal, make it your own. Your faith confession can look something like this:

God chose me in Him before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and without
blame before Him in love.(Ephesians 1:4) God made me a little lower than the angels, and
He crowned me with glory and honour. I have dominion over the works of His hands (Psalm
8: 4 – 6). The immeasurable, unlimited and surpassing power of God is on the inside of me,
and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me. (Ephesians 1: 19 – 20) I am
led by the Spirit, I am a son of God, I will no longer be in bondage, I received the Spirit of
adoption by whom I can cry out Abba Father (Romans 8:25). I will call upon the name of the
Lord, I will be saved (Romans 10:13).

There are so many amazing promises in His Word for you, but herewith some promises that will show you
who you are in Christ and it will also show you the character of the awesome God we serve.
You are forgiven
Psalm 103: 8 – 12. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will
not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to
our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He
removed our transgressions from us.
You are free
2 Corinthians 3:17. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 
You have hope
Psalm 71: 5 – 6. 5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. 6 By You I have
been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall
be continually of You.
You are gifted
James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
You have purpose
Jeremiah 29: 11.  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and
not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 
You are valuable
Psalm 17:8. Keep me as the apple of your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings. It is wonderful
to know you are the apple of His eye. Have a look at this scripture that is so amazing to me. 2 Chronicles
16:9. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those
whose heart is completely His. 
You are blessed
Psalm 144: 15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose
God is the Lord!

There is no reason for you to have uncertainties and live with low self-esteem and unhappiness. In
Jeremiah 1: 5 we also read “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I
sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Ephesians 1: 3 – 6. Say the following. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,4 just as He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in
love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved.
He formed you, know you and love you as His son. Matthew you should start to know and believe it.
When God the Father look at you he sees you through the blood of Jesus, it is like the blood of Jesus is a
wall between you and God the Father washing away everything. 1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little
children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have
been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His
name, believing in Him as Saviour].

God completely accepts and approves of you through Jesus Christ; He loves you for you, not for what you
do. You should find your identity in Christ and see yourself as He sees you. See Psalm 8:4 – 6. 4 What is
man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a
little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to
have dominion over the works of Your hands;

6. Prayer for healing

In the Name of Jesus I command your hypothalamus to be at peace. I command the serotonin levels
to raise and be restored to normal levels. In the Name of Jesus, I command your brain and your basal
ganglia to be normalized, reformed and conformed to the way it was created from the foundation of
the world. I command your genes and DNA to be made whole and perfect as God originally created it.
I command the defective chemistry and the THIQ chemical to be eradicated as a work of the Holy
Spirit. I release the craving physiologically from your body – I command it to be gone in Jesus’ Name –
Amen.

7. Sanctification of the body

Just like the problem of addiction developed through the spirit-soul-body connection, it will be healed
through the same path-way. After sanctification of the spirit, it was possible to sanctify the soul. Each
time one meditates on God’s Word, the healthy lush trees will become stronger. Each time one hears his
faith confession or meditates on these scriptures during thinking time it will be like a breeze going
through the trees, reactivating the healthy memory trees to release healthy chemicals which will
completely remove the thorns from toxic thorn trees. Therefore there will no longer be low serotonine
levels. The craving for a chemical fix will disappear. Peace hormones released by healthy memory trees,
will allow you to cope with the difficulties of life. This is sanctification of the body, the removal of disease
and anything else that harm the body. It will automatically happen as you continue on this road of
Sanctification.

May the Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you]; May
the Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor], and be gracious to you [surrounding you with
loving kindness]; May the Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],
and give you peace [a tranquil heart and life]. (Num. 6:24 – 26)